Good morning. The Rams play a real football game today, on the other side of the world, without Aaron Donald and against a 49ers team that just got George Kittle back. The Dodgers are 89-57 and have won seven in a row and will spend today on a plane to Miami without their best player. LAFC won on the hottest night of the year. And Fredo Cervantes broke the biggest story in baseball last night and then wrote the sharpest thing anyone has written about it. Let’s get into it.
🚨 HEADLINES
⚾ To the IL. Ohtani is shut down; 21-year-old Josue De Paula comes up from Double-A — Fredo Cervantes at Dodger Stadium.
🏈 Kickoff. The Rams open in Melbourne with Kittle and Bosa back for San Francisco — Muhammed Asif in Melbourne.
⚽ 95 degrees at kickoff. LAFC beat the Red Bulls 2-0 — Jeff Kennedy at BMO Stadium.
⚽ Shut out in Vancouver. The Galaxy gave one away at BC Place — Sergio Gonzalez at BC Place.
🏈 Every day. Steve Carp on Klint Kubiak and the slow work of changing a culture — Steve Carp at the Intermountain Health Performance Center.
🥊 Saturday in Vegas. Conor Benn says he is ready for Ryan Garcia — Will Despart in Las Vegas.
See what else is trending at The Sporting Tribune.
📋 SCOREBOARD — WEDNESDAY
⚾ MLB: Dodgers 14, Reds 1 (sweep)
⚽ MLS: LAFC 2, Red Bulls 0 · Vancouver 3, Galaxy 0
⚾ THE STORY WASN’T THE SCORE
Fredo Cervantes had it first on X, from Dave Roberts, and then wrote the column the situation deserved.
Ohtani has missed six of the Dodgers’ last seven games. The one he played was Monday, when he went 0-for-3 and felt something in his swing. He didn’t tell anyone that night. The training staff and Roberts found out Tuesday, when he was in the cage.
Because he is classified as a two-way player, the IL stint is 15 days. The earliest he can return is Sept. 23 — five regular-season games before the playoffs start.
Roberts made the reasoning plain. “Disappointed in the sense that he wants to play but he realizes it’s the best thing for him so he can be the player we all want him to be in October.” And then the line that settles the question of severity: “If it were a postseason game tomorrow, he’d be in the lineup.”
Cervantes doesn’t leave it there, and he shouldn’t. His own verdict on how this was handled: “I’m not convinced it was.” A player felt something Monday, the club learned Tuesday, the IL came Wednesday. With three weeks to the postseason, that gap matters.
The 14-1 part. Yamamoto went seven on three hits and one run with 10 strikeouts on 90 pitches. The one blemish was Elly De La Cruz, who has now homered off Tarik Skubal and Yamamoto on consecutive nights. Mookie Betts hit a two-run shot in the third, his 19th of the year and his 171st as a Dodger, tying Pedro Guerrero for 11th in franchise history. The fourth inning was six runs. Kiké Hernández doubled home two, Kyle Tucker doubled, Alex Freeland doubled him in. Max Muncy’s 27th made it 11-1. It was the Dodgers’ first double-digit game since Aug. 17.
Enter De Paula. Twenty-one years old, called up straight from Double-A, where he put up a .948 OPS with 27 home runs. He debuts Friday in Miami and gets the DH job while Ohtani is out. Roberts’s explanation: “You could argue the talent in Double-A is similar to Triple-A as far as pure arms and arm talent. We’ve seen him in camp for two or three years. He doesn’t run from velocity, this is a good opportunity for him.”
Betts, who has barely seen him: “I know he’s a good kid, and we’ll see. I’m excited to see him.”
GO DEEPER
› Fredo Cervantes: Dodgers place Shohei Ohtani on IL, call up Josue De Paula (The Sporting Tribune)
🏈 MELBOURNE, THIS EVENIN
G
The Rams open their season at the MCG this evening our time, and the injury news broke their way and then broke back.
San Francisco gets George Kittle. Adam Schefter reported Wednesday that the tight end — who ruptured his right Achilles on Jan. 11 and was listed as limited in practice this week — is off the injury report and will play. That is a seven-month return from an injury that usually takes nine to twelve. Nick Bosa is also back, for the first time since 2025 following an ACL tear, and Christian McCaffrey is fully healthy with no snap restrictions.
Kyle Shanahan is not planning to run either returning star into the ground. “We got to be smart with that,” he said Wednesday. “They both look great and stuff, but we also definitely have to be smart with that.”
Aaron Donald will not play. Sean McVay said Tuesday that Donald is staying home entirely — not because of a new injury, but because coming back from two years away is a gradual build. “He won’t play in this game. He’s doing a great job. I think he’ll be ready to go sooner rather than later, but we’re making a decision that we think is best for him and for our team.” McVay would not commit to Week 2.
Myles Garrett will play, and he has been saying all week that he is ready. The Rams’ interior line without Donald: Kobie Turner, Braden Fiske, Poona Ford, Tyler Davis and Ty Hamilton.
The two teams took opposite approaches to the trip — the 49ers have been in Australia a week, the Rams flew Tuesday night and land Thursday morning, roughly a day before kickoff, on a minute-by-minute sleep plan McVay called “very specific, strategic.” We are about to find out which theory was right.
GO DEEPER
› Muhammed Asif: Rams handed major setback hours before kickoff (The Sporting Tribune)
› Rams wrap up practice in Woodland Hills before long flight and quick turnaround in Melbourne (The Sporting Tribune)
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🍔 THE DEALS BOARD
Active today across Southern California — brought to you by Ike’s Sandwiches, home of the world famous Arash Markazi sandwich, which has fried chicken, purple slaw, wasabi mayo, honey mustard, and cheddar on a Dutch Crunch roll. Just ask for the 500 at any Ike’s location. A 14-run night turns almost everything back on, and LAFC’s 2-0 win unlocks two that rarely fire.
🐼 Panda Express — $7 Panda Plate. Dodgers home win. Code DODGERSWIN, Panda Rewards account required, through 11:59 p.m.
🍟 McDonald’s — free 6-piece Chicken McNuggets with a $2 purchase. Fourteen runs, six required. Rewards & Deals in the app.
🍔 Jack in the Box — free Jumbo Jack with a large drink. Yamamoto struck out 10 by himself. Code GODODGERS26.
🍔 The Habit Burger Grill — free Double Char with an $8 minimum. The Dodgers completed two double plays. MyHabit, “My Offers,” code DODGERS26.
🍗 Ono Hawaiian BBQ — $5.99 Chicken Plate Lunch. LAFC scored first in the first half at home — Jude Terry in the 22nd minute. Code LAFCSCORES, online only, registered users. This one has triggered five times all season.
🛵 DoorDash — $10 off a $20+ order. LAFC won. The code drops on LAFC’s Instagram story rather than a terms page, so check there. LA County, delivery only.
🧋 Sunright Tea Studio — BOGO Blue Heaven Frostie. Home win. Code ILOVELA.
🌮 El Portal, Pasadena — $12 combination plates and $7 house margaritas. Order online for pickup.
☕ Con Azúcar Café, Sylmar — free size upgrade and Dodgers latte art. Say “Dodgers win!” at the register.
Very likely: the Mountain Dew Baja Blast pass needs one 420-foot home run anywhere in baseball, and it has hit in 159 of 164 games this season. Worth checking: the Habit Burger Double Char needs a double play, ampm needs a stolen base, and the McDonald’s Angels fries deal needs a Wednesday win at Fenway — none of which we could confirm this morning. Dark today: the Firehouse Subs window closed Wednesday, and the Norms hotcakes need a Galaxy goal, which Vancouver did not allow.
⚽ THE HOTTEST NIGHT OF THE YEAR
Jeff Kennedy’s lede is the right one: 95 degrees at kickoff, humidity that never broke, one of the oldest teams in MLS against one of the youngest, and experience winning it.
Marc Dos Santos doubled down on the counter-attacking identity that a section of the fanbase has been arguing about, and in that heat it worked. LAFC invited pressure. New York obliged and couldn’t finish. Every stoppage became a water break.
The opener came in the 22nd minute from the youngest player on the second-oldest team in the league — 17-year-old Jude Terry, side-footing home from the top of the box after Ethan Horvath parried a shot back into danger. Armando Sieb added a stoppage-time second. Denis Bouanga didn’t score but tormented Deylan Nealis all night, and Jacob Shaffelburg stretched the Red Bulls’ back line from the right.
By the final whistle players were on the ground. Dos Santos was candid about what it cost. “This league doesn’t allow you a lot of rest,” he said. “And when you have some older players, it’s hard for them to play Saturday, Wednesday, Saturday again.” Then: “At the end, the players were tired, but it shows what they achieved.”
Up in Vancouver, the Galaxy were shut out at BC Place.
GO DEEPER
› Jeff Kennedy: LAFC defeat RBNY in stifling SoCal heat (The Sporting Tribune)
› David Martinez: Terry and Sieb shine as LAFC dominate New York Red Bulls to end winless run (The Sporting Tribune)
› Sergio Gonzalez: Poor miscues cost LA Galaxy in shutout road loss to Vancouver (The Sporting Tribune)
🎰 FROM LAS VEGAS
The Raiders open Sunday. Steve Carp writes that for Klint Kubiak, changing the culture at the Intermountain Health Performance Center is daily work rather than a speech. Derek Hegna, meanwhile, asks the question the whole market wants answered: what exactly is the plan for Fernando Mendoza, the No. 1 overall pick sitting behind Kirk Cousins?
Benn-Garcia on Saturday. Will Despart has Conor Benn saying he is ready for his championship moment against Ryan Garcia.
GO DEEPER
› Steve Carp: For Kubiak, changing the Raiders’ culture is a daily endeavor (The Sporting Tribune)
› Derek Hegna: What is the plan for Fernando Mendoza this season? (The Sporting Tribune)
› Will Despart: Conor Benn is ready for his championship moment against Ryan Garcia (The Sporting Tribune)
📺 WATCHLIST — THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 10
🏈 NFL: Rams vs. 49ers — Melbourne Cricket Ground — this evening our time (10:35 a.m. Friday in Australia)
⚾ MLB: The Dodgers are off, then fly to Miami. The Padres finished their homestand Wednesday.
Coming up: The Dodgers open at Miami on Friday at 4:10 p.m., with Josue De Paula expected to make his major-league debut. Ryan Garcia and Conor Benn fight in Las Vegas on Saturday. USC hosts Louisiana, UNLV travels to North Texas and Hawai’i hosts New Mexico State on Saturday. The Raiders open against Miami at Allegiant Stadium on Sunday, and the Galaxy host Seattle.
🎟️ GOING TO A GAME?
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🏈 Dolphins at Raiders — Allegiant Stadium (Sunday) — $204
🏈 Louisiana at USC — Coliseum (Saturday) — $23
⚽ Sounders at Galaxy — Dignity Health Sports Park (Saturday) — $42
🌴 TST TRIVIA
Mookie Betts hit his 171st home run as a Dodger on Wednesday night, tying him for 11th on the franchise’s all-time list. Whom did he tie?
Answer at the bottom.
🎧 THE SPORTING TRIBUNE TODAY
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Today’s episode: Ohtani to the injured list and what it means for October, a 14-1 sweep that got buried, the Rams opening a season in Australia without Aaron Donald, and a 17-year-old winning a game in 95-degree heat.
› Listen to the latest episode
Trivia answer: Pedro Guerrero.
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